KINGSTON — Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce has been entered and declared for both the 100m and 200m at the 2022 Jamaica National Championships which begins this week and her coach Reynaldo Walcott says she will definitely do the double.
The four-time world champion enters this weekend’s trials as the defending champion in both events, having clocked 10.71 secs for the 100m and her 200m personal best of 21.79 last season.
READ MORE: Fraser-Pryce equals world lead time with another 10.67 sizzler at Paris Diamond League
Fraser-Pryce, who is the reigning world 100m champion from Doha 2019, and doesn’t need to run the event at the national championships because of her wild card entry, is the world leader in the discipline this season, having posted back-to-back 10.67 seconds in her two appearances so far.
Embed from Getty ImagesIt was understood that the 35-year-old who owns a 100m PB of 10.60 seconds from last year, would have only contested the women’s 200m at the trials in keeping with her limited competition schedule this season.
However, the four-time world 100m champion has been entered in both sprints and Walcott confirmed that she will double up this weekend.
“She definitely will double this weekend,” Walcott said in The Jamaica Gleaner on Tuesday.
Heading into the Jamaica National Championships Fraser-Pryce sits atop of the world’s top list in the 100m with her pair of 10.67 seconds performances, while her season’s best over the 200m is 22.41 seconds, which she clocked when winning the Prefontaine Classic 2022 title in May.
Strong Field To Battle Fraser-Pryce For Her Titles
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Among the other world-class sprinters lining up in the sprint double at the trials this week are the double-double Olympic champion Elaine Thompson-Herah, Olympic bronze medalist Shericka Jackson, Kevona Davis, Natalliah Whyte, and Briana Williams.
Embed from Getty ImagesA total of seven Jamaicans have broken 11 seconds in the women’s 100m this season, with Thompson Herah ranked second in the world this year with 10.79 secs.
Jackson (10.92), Davis (10.95), Whyte (10.97), Kemba Nelson (10.97), and Tokyo Games relay gold medal winner Williams (10.97) have also broken 11 seconds in this campaign.
As for the 200m, Jackson is the top Jamaican this year with a time of 21.91 seconds, done at the 2022 Golden Gala Pietro Mennea – Rome Diamond League meeting earlier this month.
Thompson-Herah, who was second to Jackson in Rome, sits next on the list at 22.25, followed by Kevona Davis (22.26), Fraser-Pryce (22.41), and Whyte (22.57) who is sixth on the list.
High school star Brianna Lyston has clocked an impressive 22.53 seconds in a -2.2 m/s headwind this year, but she will only focus on running the event at the junior level this weekend.
Follow live results from the national trials here
